January 27, 2004
Synergy Update
It closed.
The Disney Store at 66th and Columbus had all the promise of synergy going for it. Sure, there are other Disney stores, but only this one was in the same building as ABC, also owned by Disney. An extra corner space at a high-traffic intersection would allow Disney to leverage is expertise in managing television stations, making movies, running theme parks and owning sports teams to sell more Disney toys. Peter Jennings would be right nearby delivering a world news update, providing added value to consumers that wanted the latest Princess DVD.
Now, Disney may have to think about actually leasing the valuable space to someone else that, you know, might actually want to pay money for prime real estate. This would have the terrible effect of adding to the bottom line and undermining conglomerate harmony.
